Pitchers: Trevor Williams (3-4, 4.80) goes against Carlos Martinez (6-8, 3.40). The Cubs roughed him up in his last start, a game that his mates in the field basically deserted him. Trevor has slotted as a solid fifth starter, going 2-2/4.03 ERA in his last 11 starts and working six frames or more in three of his last four starts. He hasn't faced the Redbirds this year and gone 1-0/6.23 in three 2016 relief appearances, lasting 4-1/3 IP. Carlos has been tough this year. He ranks among the NL leaders in ERA (3.40, 10th), strikeouts(128, sixth), innings pitched (116.1, seventh), WHIP (1.16, ninth) & opp BA (.213, fifth). He averages 10 K per game, and his numbers are true - his xFIP (3.68) matches up pretty well with his ERA. Martinez is 4-5/3.59 ERA in 18 outings (nine starts) v the Buccos. This will be his first 2017 game against Pittsburgh. His last start v the Pirates was September 30th at Busch and he tossed seven scoreless innings in a 7-0 win.

Notes:

J-Bell has a seven-game hitting streak while Cutch is working on a six-gamer.

Cutch is one rap away from 1,400 hits.

Busy dude: Wade LeBlanc has already reached a career-high in appearances (34) this season while pitching exclusively out of the bullpen for the first time in his career.

Trevor and dad (image Roots Sports)

Returning to the scene: Trevor Williams made his MLB debut last year on September 7th vs. St. Louis at PNC Park and allowed one unearned run in three innings of relief for the win; you might recall him embracing his family and giving his dad the game ball after the contest.

Talk It Up

If you have any thoughts to share or an idea for a future post, we're all ears. Give us a shout atThe Green Weenie. And by all means, let your voice be heard and leave a comment. We enjoy the chatter.

One rule: if you want to leave a relevant link, or a link to your site, that's fine with us; the more the merrier. But if you're trying to sell stuff or are leaving flaming posts, we zap it, no questions asked.